DNA Pyramids
DNA consists of four bases which form complementary pairs – A with T, C with G. Researchers have taken advantage of the bases’ natural affinity for each other to form self-assembled pyramids.
In the work at Oxford, four strands of DNA served as the basis for the pyramids. Each strand makes up one triangular face. The edges of these triangles have open puzzle-piece sequences that bind to another edge of a triangle. As these edges meet, the triangles fold into the shape of a pyramid. Simply by mixing the right numbers of different strands together, the researchers have built trillions of pyramids — and in just seconds.
These DNA pyramids could be used as containers for drug delivery or as the basis for making more complex structures.
Technology Review, January 3, 2006
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